The Prophecy
by Arbmaster 16
Summary: A lone Sangheili wakes up remembering nothing. It is forced upon her to find out who she is and why she is here. Is she just the common Sangheili female? Or is she something far more?
1. The Awakening

**This is my first written fan fiction so I hope you enjoy :) Feel free to leave constructive criticism :) All the characters in this are original and were first created during the days of Halo 2 & 3. I created this story 4 years ago and have only now thought about making it into a full written story. I hope you like it :) R&R is always welcome ^.^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Halo franchise in any way. Halo belongs to Bungie and 343 Industries.**

**Update 30/07/13: I have re-read all the current chapters (1-4) and I have spelled checked them thoroughly twice and added a few little bits that I thought would be nice. :) Hope you enjoy the updated chapters and thank you for reading and sticking with me so far! Much love, Arby ^.^**

She felt the cold brush past her. The faint beams of warmth came down from the sun but barely broke through the cold fortress of air. She awoke not knowing where she was… not knowing who she was. Upon looking around in confusion she saw a vast, white landscape with two purple towers and defence turrets surrounding her. It was breath-taking and not just because it was cold either. She began to walk but it felt… different, uncomfortable.

The more pressing issues forced the unusualness out of her mind as she ventured this new landscape. The cold didn't seem to hit her that much, "Strange." she thought to herself, it must have been well below 0 and she was amazed that she was even alive at all. She entered the tower to her right. It was run down and none of the electronics were working. She saw a doorway that lead into a large tunnel beneath the snow. Upon following it, she was able to get into the left tower. The place was lit all over with lights from top to bottom, it felt warm and even cosy half buried in its snowy embrace. She found what appeared to be an armoury. A look of confusion was clear across her face as she hadn't seen anyone around since she woke up. It then crossed her mind "What if there is someone here? They may be hidden… watching me?" She picked up a long black rifle with a green scope. It was heavy but she handled it like a natural. She placed it on her back as if it was an instinct. She didn't think about it and went to pick up a smaller, darker rifle with a red laser sight. She kept it handy as she approached the exit until it hit her… her hands. She studied them. Two fingers, two thumbs, a dark skin tone. She then looked at her feet to see two large toes and caught sight of her knee it was… backwards? "What am I?" She thought in a silent panic until a noise outside drew her attention. She readied her small rifle and went outside.

Every footstep was silent. Every breath was slow and steady. Every movement was unnoticed by the snow beneath her feet. She scanned the land around her but saw no other movement that is until she looked up to see a towering black figure staring down at her. It leaped from its platform and charged at her. She instantly rolled backwards and took cover in another entrance to the underground tunnel. A thought crossed her mind, she couldn't remember anything so the thought of possibly killing someone was making her stomach churn. She couldn't think anymore. The beast was running towards her so she got up and ran down into the tunnel, the beast following her every move. She had no choice she had to kill it, it was either her or it right? She took a deep breath, readied her rifle and fired at the beasts head. It was down instantly. She slumped against a wall out of breath, not from the running but from the sheer fact that she had just taken a life. It made her feel ill but she couldn't stop she had to figure out a way to some kind of non-hostile civilisation and maybe even home… if she even had one. She crawled up to the monsters corpse and had a closer look. Shock came through her as she noticed the creature had the same limbs, same hands, feet and backwards knees. She had killed one of her own and it sent shame through her mind and through her heart. It had grey and teal armour and a weird emblem on its right shoulder. She had never seen one before and had no idea what it meant. She looked at the glowing blade within its hand. She anxiously picked it up but felt strength as she gripped it in her hand. It felt comfortable, normal, and even right. She took one more look at her dead comrade and simply said "I am sorry, friend" before she went back up outside into the white blanket wilderness.

She sat down on the ramp of the right tower trying to think of a way to get out of here. "I could find a vehicle but those turrets would get me. They are all over the perimeter of this place." They were facing outwards to the vast wilderness which meant they were for keeping people out, another sign that she shouldn't be here. She didn't know what to do. She had no clue, no start and no memories to think about either. She heard footsteps behind her and instantly jumped up with the aluminous blade in hand. "You are… alive." She said with a relieved tone and lowered her sword. For the first time the creature spoke.

"It takes more than a simple headshot to kill me. I had a shield over my armour. I was simply playing dead to lower your guard. You put up somewhat of a fight sister but I must know why you are here. You are trespassing on sacred ground and I am its Guardian."

"Sister? You are my sister?" She said in confusion. The beast answered.

"Not biologically no. That is just what we call others of the same species. Every Sangheili knows that." Her eyes widened at this new word.

"I am a… Sangheili!?" She said in a panic.

"You are an odd character. Who are you?"

"Actually maybe you could help me with that. I have no memory of anything or anyone. I do not know how I got here and I do not know who I am."

The two lower mandibles of the beast dropped but then calmed and it spoke in a reasonable tone. "My name is Vierra. I have never heard of such a situation happening to a Sangheili but if you need guidance then it is my duty as a Guardian to help one of my kind."

She showed a smile and began to breathe better knowing that she found someone who can finally help her. Vierra sat down next to her and gestured to her blade. She slowly handed it over careful not to touch anything. She put the weapon on her waist and began to talk.

"Your armour colours, I have never seen a pattern like it before. That alone shows that you are not from around here or related to me in any way." Her armour was mostly a bright red with stripes of violet and sage running down it. Vierra became curious and stood her up to look at her closer. She circled her, focusing on every little detail she had, not just on her armour but on her body as well. She came round to her right shoulder and noticed an emblem. Upon seeing it she gasped and bowed down to her.

"Uh, what are you doing?" She asked. Vierra then looked up and told her what she knew.

"That emblem on your right shoulder is known as The Solsaw." The Sol blade was red with its inner circle being violet and the background buzz saw being sage. "The Solsaw is an emblem of one prestigious Sangheili bloodline, The Arbmasters. I have met the 15th one but I have not met you before which must mean you are the 16th of your generation." She was unable to speak and just sat down to listen to her. "News spread fast when you were born and you were simply known as Arby. It is said in legends that the sixteenth in the Arbmaster bloodline is said to fulfil a prophecy to stop an upcoming Sangheili civil war and in order to fulfil it, you must collect the 8 Royal Swords."

Arby perked up. "Oh is that what that is on your waist?" she questioned.

"No, this is just a weapon of defence not a sacred item of power and beauty. Only Arbmasters can pick up these swords without having their skin burnt off." She pointed up to a small platform at the top of the tower. Arby moved to see a glowing golden sword sat on it. She knew she would have to climb to reach it. Vierra nodded and allowed her to climb. The surface was cold and bitter to touch but she could feel the warmth of the sword gracing her skin as she got higher. Its energy was amazing and the power she felt when finally having it in her hands flooded her senses. It didn't burn it simply felt warm. She put it on her waist and climbed back down. The Guardian once again bowed to her. Arby felt a little uncomfortable but grateful nonetheless.

"Where do I go from here?" She questioned knowing that there were seven more swords to retrieve.

"I will teleport you to the second Royal Sword location, however, each sword has its own Guardian and they will all need a little convincing so to speak. The next Guardian is actually my twin sister so do not get us confused, understand?" Arby nodded and was teleported instantly leaving Vierra to get her head around what was happening.


	2. The Quest for the Swords

**I would like to thank a good friend of mine for giving me some suggestions on how to improve my work :) I hope everyone else likes it so far to. I'm planning on putting up a new chapter every week and hopefully this story will do well. I thank you all for reading it so far it is much appreciated ^.^**

**Update 30/07/13: Again thoroughly spell checked twice and added a little bit more to it. Enjoy ^.^**

Her sister had told her these things. An Arbmaster? The saviour of her race? She didn't believe any of it. She wasn't as naive as her younger sister and as always she needed proof before she would go bowing down to someone of the same species.

Guarding a sword isn't always a walk in the park. You have to be on high alert all the time. The thought of this holy relic going missing or being stolen is the only thing that every Guardian fears. That single thought is the motivation that keeps them strong and loyal but there is always an exception to every rule.

It was a peaceful afternoon with Sierra trying to translate some ancient text that her sister sent to her. As always she would study it thoroughly until the job was done. She could never leave anything unfinished, a 'pet peeve' so to speak. That was until she got distracted. An unrecognisable, barely describable noise came from the beach. It was futuristic and something not of this world. It was her duty to investigate in case of a threat to the Royal Sword. She got up and went into camouflage. Her agile figure blending in seamlessly with the environment around her. She headed to the right side of the complex near some steps and a long walkway leading back into the main structure. She had to be careful of a few explosives that were left lying around. Heaven knows how they got there. She peered over her cover to see another Sangheili walking through the main archway and heading towards the central building of the complex.

"That must be her." Sierra whispered to herself as she began to follow her. She remained on the walkway until she could see her heading for the wheel. She majestically leaped off of the walkway and charged defiantly towards the young Arbmaster. She remained hidden as she climbed to the top at a lightning pace. She waited just for a few seconds until the warrior was in the right position before she jumped down onto the arm of the wheel and landed right next to Arby.

_One hour earlier…_

It was with a heavy thud that Arby found herself being greeted by the soft summer sand and graced by sapphire skies. She got up and dusted herself off before she began looking for the sword and its Guardian. There were large ruins surrounding her as she walked through a grand archway. She was shocked to find what looked like an old military base within the ruins. It was something most Sangheili warriors would find disrespectful, building on top of old, historical structures. She had to think to herself. "The first sword was quite a ways up. Surely the others would be the same?" The red warrior ventured into the base and went as far up as she could. Arby was on the second floor but found nothing sword-like in appearance and more importantly there was no one else around. Was this the right place? Maybe there was a mistake. Arby began to doubt but she shook it off and went to look around the other half of the base.

There was an enormous windmill-like structure in the middle of the courtyard. Arby just gazed at it for a few seconds before a devious smile came across her face. She ran towards it and leaped onto one of its arms as it began to head back up to the top. She was down on her knees waiting for the right moment to grab onto its frame. Out of nowhere, she felt something land next to her. Out the corner of her eye she could see a faint shimmer and instantly thought to herself "Camouflage." Before grabbing the edge of the frame and flipping herself over to land on the top. A weird sensation came over her as blurred memories began to come back. She was incredibly agile and taught from a very young age.

"Very nice, sister. You need to perfect it. Always be aware of your surroundings and your body. It is key that you know where every part of you is to minimise the chance of injury."

"That voice…" Arby thought. "I recognise it… who is that?"

"Like this?" A very young Arby said with enthusiasm.

"Excellent! You learn fast. Always remember, if you ever get in trouble, remember everything I have taught you. A flip or two will easily get you out of range of a sword."

She then awoke, still on the windmill and still being hunted.

That same shimmer followed her up and landed right behind her. Without thinking, Arby used its shoulders to flip behind her and point her small rifle to the back of her head. It came out of camouflage and was wearing grey and teal armour. "You must be Sierra." Arby stated as the other Sangheili turned around nodding.

"Indeed. My name is Sierra. I am Guardian of the Royal Sword on this island. Why do you come here intruder and why do you have foreign weaponry?"

Arby said nothing in return and simply showed the Guardian the markings on her right shoulder. Sierras' eyes seemed to widen but then calmed soon after. "I recognise that emblem of yours, however, that is not enough to convince me of your true form." Arby looked back at her confused.

"It was enough to convince your twin." As she showed her the sword she had obtained back at that snowy wasteland. Sierra again seemed dumbstruck but shrugged it off once more.

"If you are who I think you are then you would be like the rest of your bloodline and have swordsman skills that are unmatched by any and every other individual." This made Arby nervous. She could only pray that her instincts would guide her way around an energy sword. Sierra led her to a large room inside the facility. Lights slowly flickered their way on as Sierra made her way to the far side of the room whilst Arby stayed where she was. Sierras' eyes glared back at her with determination. It was clear she didn't want to hand over the Royal Sword or just didn't want to admit that there was an Arbmaster here with her on her island.

She took a deep breath and gave a respectful nod to the stubborn Guardian. Sierra returned the nod and drew her blade. Arby repeated her action and readied her sword. They began to circle, never taking their eyes off each other, studying the others movements like an obsession. Without warning they both charged at each other. Their swords collided giving off sparks which caused Arby to flinch. Sierra took this opportunity to get behind her and hold the sword around her neck. "You cannot be an Arbmaster. Look at yourself. You are at my mercy in seconds. Who are you really?"

"I would not be so sure friend. The art of deception has eluded you and now you have let down your guard." Before Sierra could react, Arby used her strength to ram her elbow into the Sangheili's face, knocking her backwards and freeing her grip on the young challenger. Arby then forced her sword down on the Sangheili's head until Sierra blocked just at the final moment.

"Perfect." Arby thought as she had got Sierra right where she wanted her. The Arbmaster got her two middle fingers and jabbed them into her armpit knowing very well that there was a nerve there. This stunned Sierra causing her body to fall to the floor helpless. Arby picked up her blade and held it whilst staring down at Sierra. It only took a few seconds for her to recover and then proceeded to bow down just as Vierra did. Arby put her hand on her shoulder. "I need that sword Sierra. If you know the legend well enough then you know why." Sierra nodded and signalled Arby to follow her. She led her near the archway and showed her the second archway on the beach adjacent to the other one.

"How did I not notice that before?" Arby thought in confusion. Sierra began to climb the side of the half fallen arch and Arby proceeded to do the same. There was a small platform at the top but there was nothing there. This was the highest point on the island but there was no sword. Sierra nodded upwards. Arby looked up and there it was simply floating in mid-air above their heads.

"I doubt this is an intelligent question but how do we reach the sword?"

"Use this." She handed Arby a small, purple device. "I do not know if you remember much at this point but it is a gravity lift, a small one. It will boost you up to the sword. Just put it down and press that button on the side."

Arby did as instructed and it worked as Sierra had described. Arby grabbed the sword and landed back down next the lift. "You can have it back now. Thank you" She said handing her back her gravity lift.

"You now have your sword Arbmaster. What is your next step?" Sierra curiously asked.

"I simply need the other six. If this war is going to happen between our people then I am going to need all the help I can get. I need you, your sister and the other six Guardians to fight by my side to ensure as little injury as possible. Can you do that?"

Sierra again bowed in front of Arby. "It would be our honour to serve by your side Arbmaster."

"Thank you" Arby said. "Can you send me to the third swords location?"

Sierra nodded and in that instant Arby was gone to find the third sword and fight the third Guardian.


	3. Third Time, Rough Going

**Thanks to all who have read this so far :) I hope you are all enjoying it ^.^ Chapter 4 should be up next Tuesday unless something comes up. Other than that, have fun reading and have a great day :)**

**Arby :3**

**Update 30/07/13: Spell checked twice just like the other chapters. I also went through to make sure the speech was authentic. I know the Sangheili don't tend to shorten words like we do since they're level of language hasn't advanced as far as ours. Anyway, thanks for reading. Much love! Arby :)**

The soothing sounds of the ocean waves were heard from the quiet shore. The pristine water gently flapping against the flawless, golden sand was soon disturbed by the sounds of coughing and spluttering that were being made by a certain red armoured mistress.

"It had to be in the water did it not?" She mumbled to herself as she dragged her body onto shore. Arby took a minute to rest before she gathered her strength and heaved herself onto her two feet. There were some odd vehicles around. A small hovercraft of some sort, what looked like a large motorcycle and a car with a big cannon on the back. She had no idea what they were and didn't know how to use them so she just ignored the strange devices and headed further inland.

She hid behind a rock as a large concrete wall came into view. As she peered round, she saw a large metal gate with a walkway across the top leading to a watch tower to her left of the gate. Upon that walkway stood a figure. It was showing off black and yellow armour and didn't even attempt to hide. She locked eyes with it but it just stared back at her as if gazing into her soul and studying her memories. It had to be the Guardian which means the sword had to be there. She was about to make a move out of cover but the Guardian reacted in a heartbeat and pulled out a large purple rifle from its back. It fired a warning shot which just grazed inches past Arbys' head. Nearly cursing, Arby went back down the beach to find another way round without being spotted. She discovered a cave and snuck through it keeping her head low and her movements silenced. There was a gap in the concrete wall however she was at a high risk of being spotted by the Guardian. Looking around for answers, Arby picked up a stone and threw it so that it would land behind the Sangheili. The stone crashed into a wired fence and made a clang loud enough for the elite to hear. It jumped around and went to investigate giving Arby enough time to get through the gap and into a hole in the wall where there was a pipe that led deep into the fort.

She exited the pipe and found herself in a dark room with two paths. One led to a large garage area where more of those odd vehicles were stored and the other path led to a small room that looked very run down judging by the large chunk missing from one of its walls. It also seemed to have some computer like devices and she could hear static coming from one of them. She carefully looked around and snuck into the computer room. There were two computers, one large and one smaller one, both of which weren't making any sense to her. There was a shelf to the left of the large computer and on top of it was an old radio.

"Oh that is where the static was coming from." Realising both computers were just making faint beeping noises. She came to her senses and realised there was more than just the radio in the room. To the left of the radio was a purple device that was holding something up. That something was a sword. Arbys' mouth dropped. She couldn't believe a sword of such power and such meaning was simply sitting on a shelf next to a radio that was sounding out Morse code.

She tried to reach for it until the radio made her jump as it was picking something up. It then began to play some music she had never heard before. Drums, choir and bass graced her ears and distracted her from the sword entirely. It only played for a few seconds until it went back to that same Morse code.

"That was odd. How could music be heard in such a desolate place?" She pondered on it more until she awoke from her day dream and picked up the sword. Arby was looking around for any sign of the Guardian but the elite was nowhere to be seen. This all seemed very easy and very straight forward and that made her feel uncomfortable. She put the blade on her waist and carefully made her way out of the room. She went back the way she came and climbed into the pipe. She sat down for a moment to try and figure out why this relic was left so unguarded and so exposed.

"Anybody could have taken it." She thought to herself. Arby continued to think but something was distracting her. She closed her eyes and listened. It was footsteps without a doubt the Guardian was near but did it know where she was? Out of nowhere, a large clang was heard right above Arby and a large minigun came bursting through the top of the pipe and began to rain death down upon her. The noise made her jump to her feet and run through the pipe, back through the wall and all the way down to a tree near the beach where she could hide. The adrenaline was flowing through her.

"That was too close." She said to herself and chuckled slightly. It took a few minutes for Arby to catch her breath before she felt something crawling down her right arm. Assuming it was a bug she slapped her arm in a hope of killing it but when she looked back at her hand she saw something more disturbing than some small insect. Her hand was covered in blood. She glanced to her arm and to her horror she saw a piece of the pipe had dug deep into her arm. She clutched it in pain and put her head back against the tree whilst saying three simple words "Damn it all".

She turned away from her injury hoping to find some comfort in the scenic view she was blessed with. Instead, she found herself staring down the barrel of that same minigun that pieced the metal pipe earlier. She looked up to see the Guardian staring back down at her, again staring through her eyes and into her soul.

The Sangheili didn't say much and there was a long uncomfortable silence until the elite finally spoke. "Who are you?" She said with an almost comforting tone. Arby tried to turn over and show her the emblem on her shoulder but the Guardian wasn't taking any chances and assumed that she was going to attack again. She slammed the minigun into the side of Arbys' head, knocking her out instantly.

In her unconscious state, Arby could see images, memories, of her childhood. She was sat in the corner of a large room in front of a grand fireplace and snuggled into a blanket. In front of her was her mother, Arbmaster 15, who was sat in a large chair lined with what looked like a very expensive fabric. It didn't surprise Arby that her family was rich considering her heritage. 15 was holding a large book. It looked old. The cover was bent and some of the material was hanging off of it while the pages inside were a slight yellow and torn on the edges. Her mother was telling her stories of her families past. Some good and some evil. One story in particular always terrified the young Arby and even to this day, thinking about it made her very uncomfortable.

The story about Arbmaster 5. He was the only male in our bloodline to date and he nearly tore the Arbmaster name apart. He was corrupt, evil, and demonic. He would do unthinkable things to people whether it be for power or for fun. No other Arbmaster before or after has ever had a mind so evil.

"You have got the first two swords but how? I do not trust those two sisters but they would never give up their swords without a very good reason. That much I do know." She turned around to see Arby slowly rise up from her small prison and look angrily at her.

"Who… the hell… ARE YOU!?" She yelled with rage and a slight concussion.

"I am sorry. I seem to have forgotten my manners." She said with the same soothing voice. Arby really wanted to make a sarcastic comment but didn't want to risk being hit in the head again.

"I am Scythe, Guardian of the 3rd Royal Sword and you are?" Hinting towards Arby to state her name.

"I am Arby, the 16th Arbmaster and if you did not hit me in the head then I would have shown you this." She pointed to her shoulder and then noticed that her arm had been completely patched up with bandages. "Did you do this?" She wondered.

"Correct. I saw your emblem when I healed you and I could not believe it myself at first until I saw these." She had both the swords hung on the wall.

"Give those back!" Arby demanded.

"Calm down. I am not going to take them. I am a Guardian myself remember?"

Arby sat back down and began to ask questions.

"You are female like the other two. Are the rest of the Guardians female as well?"

"Yes. You seem confused by that." Scythe questioned.

"I've read up on our culture and we females are not the most respected in our race. I am puzzled as to how females are allowed to guard such relics."

"Not to worry sister. The male of our species has tried to rid us of our titles before, however, me standing here today and the other 7 should be enough to tell you that they stood no chance against us. They eventually gave up due to their unimaginable amount of losses and left us alone." A huge smile was clear on Scythes' face as she told Arby the story.

Scythe continued. "Anyway back to you. You have quite the task ahead of you and there is no way to tell the others of your exploits. The rest of us are not related unlike the first two. It is a security measure I assure you but I am sure it would not be a problem for someone with such a grand name Arbmaster."

Arby seemed irritated by this. The thought of having to fight through the next five Guardians was daunting to her and the worst part was that she didn't have a choice. If she didn't fulfil this prophecy then her race was doomed to fall in this civil war. She gathered her strength and stood up. Scythe handed her back the swords and her weapons.

"What do I do with these swords once I have them all?" Arby had wondered about this from the beginning. Where would they go? What would they do? Unfortunately, Scythe couldn't answer her.

"That is an area that I do not know but do not worry I am sure the 8th Guardian will be able to tell you a lot more than I." She replied with a smile. Arby nodded, not having a choice but to agree with her. She knew the routine by now as she braced herself for another teleportation.

"Good luck Arbmaster." Was all Scythe said before Arby vanished yet again.


	4. The Bold and the Green

**As promised, here is chapter 4. I didn't think I would get this one out on time since I have had quite a rough week but nonetheless, here it is! I checked this one before hand so it shouldn't need an update in future. I hope you enjoy it :D Chapter 5 should be up next week! Much love! Arby :)**

"Oh little Arby. You thought you could run away from me did you? That is real cute but escaping is not an option for you. You are cornered and there is no way out. All there is now is just my way in! TAKE THIS LITTLE GIRL!"

Arby awoke in a shudder of cold sweat. She couldn't stop shaking at the trauma she had just been through. "It was just a nightmare. It was not real." She tried calming herself down "I have not had nightmares about him since I was a child. It must be me remembering those stories that brought that on." Arby shook herself awake and confidently got up. "He cannot hurt me. He is long gone by now." She began to study the area. She awoke on a ledge overlooking what looked like a training area. "What is it with old bases? This is the third one in a row that I have seen." Questioning wouldn't make gathering the swords any quicker. She gracefully jumped down onto a platform below and looked around. There were motion sensing targets that popped up when she got near them. There were two turrets, the same kind that Scythe used, placed to kill anyone that walked down a walkway in the centre of the room. There were walkways, hallways; ramps going up and down with lots of little rooms each with their own treasures. There were weapons everywhere, but no one using them.

She came across an unusual blue orb. She had never seen one before and was cautious when she approached it. Her finger gently graced the orbs aura and to her shock, she slowly turned invisible!

"I could either have some fun with this or use it productively to retrieve the 4th sword." Arby sighed. "Remember why you are here Arby. You cannot afford to mess around. I know. I know." Before she could walk away, someone began walking around the corner. She stood against the wall and remained still. It had to be the Guardian. She had armour which was oddly coloured in a very bright green, the same colour as the walls of the base. She seemed to be in a good mood as she walked past since Arby could hear her humming to herself.

"Humdedumdedum whoopdoodoo bedoobedoobedoo." She sang happily.

"Someone is in an incredibly good mood." Arby whispered to herself.

"Why THANK YOU!" She eagerly replied as she spun on her heel and scared Arby half to death.

"How did you see me?" Arby demanded.

"Oh palease! You are in camouflage. That does not automatically make you a ninja." She replied with pride.

Arby had no response. She had never imagined a Guardian to have high spirits such as this. She was forced to change the subject. "What is your name?" She eventually asked after a long silence.

"I am Sage! Guardian and fabulous!" She nearly jumped out of her armour with how big her personality was. Arby struggled to take it all in and just nodded along. "I see that you are out of camouflage now." She then studied Arbys' armour much to her discomfort. "Your armour is divine! I especially love the hint of green shining through." Arby was terrified. She wasn't used to this sort of attention and feared that Sage may jump on her… or worse.

"The fear in your glistening eyes is so cute! I am amazed you got this far considering you scare so easy." Again, Arby was lost for words and tried to get back onto the subject at hand.

"I am Arby. 16th of the Arbmasters and the fact that you have not attacked me is something I am rather grateful for." Arby smiled and was slightly warming up to this strange character.

"I am honoured that you would compliment me so. In my life, I try to use other methods than slicing with swords or shooting with guns. It seems unnecessary that so many lives should go to waste just because of a simple misunderstanding and I hold you in high regard for attempting to stop an entire civil war on your own." Sage then bowed to the Arbmaster, who seemed relieved that she didn't have to fight especially with her wounded arm.

"You just believe that I am an Arbmaster? Do you not need proof or something?"

"Heavens no. Just you standing there is all the proof I need. Think about it. You have the Solsaw on your right shoulder, you have three of the Royal Swords on your waist, picking one up alone is enough proof that you are an Arbmaster."

She was happy that she didn't have to prove anything but at the same time she was suspicious. Sage didn't seem to take this too seriously and guarding a Royal Sword isn't a game where you hide in boxes and pretend you're a queen. She couldn't help herself, she just had to ask about her.

"Why are you so… happy?" She began.

"You are observant to notice that I am not like the others. I do have emotions other than seriousness, depression and anger."

"That is one way to put it." Arby thought to herself. "How did you even become a Guardian with such a relaxed attitude?" Arby continued.

"I may be relaxed but believe me I will fight for what is important. I am not a pushover and do not let my easy going attitude fool you. If I want something, I will get it."

A slight fear ran through Arby. She then began to think. "Is she demonic? A psychopath? She is oddly happy and… why do I like this?"

Her train of thought was interrupted by Sage.

"You seem to be questioning me a lot. Maybe it is time I question you." Arby didn't like being questioned much since she remembered so little but nodded nonetheless.

"Once you have gotten all of these swords. What use are you going to be with no one to help you?"

Arby replied with a deadly serious tone to her voice.

"I am not on my own Sage. Yes, I have to gather the swords alone but after that, all eight of you will be by my side to fight for our very survival as a species." Arby felt an odd sense of pride when she said that but Sage didn't budge.

"Ok but even when there are all of us, who says that you will pull this off?"

This hit Arby hard. None of the other Guardians had doubted her ability and had total faith just like they did in the Arbmasters before her. All wording escaped her mind and all she could do was stare back at Sage in shock.

"I am truly sorry to doubt you Arby but I just cannot help it. This race has been in so many wars before this one. I just cannot help thinking that fate is trying to tell us something." Sage looked to the floor and her sadness soon crept up on Arby.

A rumble echoed from behind them. They gazed at a familiar white ring that was materialising in front of them. Out of that ring came Vierra, Sierra and Scythe.

"What are you doing here? What about your swords?!" Arby exclaimed.

"You have got them remember?" Scythe calmly pointed out. Arby looked away in embarrassment.

"Why are you here?" She questioned. They all looked at Sage.

"We are here because one of us has lost faith and hope. If you are to fulfil this prophecy then we all need to believe in you. We three do but she does not."

"Sage?" Arby asked worryingly.

"I just think that it is a lot to ask. We have to put all our faith in to one Sangheili and we have to give up 8 of the most powerful ancient relics known to us and for what? A civil war which we can probably stop all on our own."

This made the others question but Vierra wasn't going to listen. "No Sage! There is a reason that it must be Arby that stops it. We may not know it yet but when we do you will be ashamed for ever doubting her! Not once has an Arbmaster failed us and this one will not either!"

"That is not true. What about the 5th one?" Sage said calmly.

Arby froze with fear at the mention of his name before Sierra stepped forward to calm the situation.

"We have a civil war on the way. A war that is likely to doom our race. We do not have a hope if we turn on each other. We have to stick together to make it through this. If we do not then we are all dead, that is certain. If we do then at least we will have a chance to stop it."

Sage nodded slowly and got up to go get her sword. The others followed her as Arby came back to her senses and looked around at the other three.

"Do not worry Arby." Scythe began. "Sage will come round. She has just had a hard time with some things that is all."

Arby gave a small smile but her morale was still hurt.

"Here is the sword." Sage announced. It was in a small concrete room with one light shining above it. It was on the same purple pedestal that Scythes' sword was on. She picked it up and gazed into its electric, glowing beauty.

"These things are so beautiful. How are they different from any other sword?" She said and the others looked at each other, unsure of how to answer.

"Well to tell you the truth… No one has ever collected the Royal Swords before. Therefore we are not certain what these swords can do." Scythe responded. Arby simply looked at all of them.

"I guess it will be me finding out then. Either way I will not fail you. I will uphold my family's honour and save our race." Injecting a bit of courage back into the four Guardians. They looked at each other and nodded with enthusiasm.

"Ok so now we have got that out of the way. Where has Miss Gorgeous got to go now?" Sage abruptly said. The other three Guardians had no answer and just stared at her blankly while Arby, who was now filled with a new found courage, took it all in her stride.

"I need the 5th sword. Which one of you is going to teleport me there?" She said as she pulled out her sniper. She was ready for the other Guardians and more importantly, she was ready to fulfil her duty to her race.

"Best of luck Arbmaster." The Guardians said as they teleported her to the next sword.

"It is going to be a long day is it not?" Sage remarked. The others simply smiled and went back to their homes.


	5. Burning of Ice

The distant roar of majestic waterfalls echoed in the steel structure suspended above a bottomless cavern. Sunlight was at war with the darkness, trying to light up its walkways, ramps and hidden rooms, but the dark always prevailed.

Arby had finally managed to get the hang of her landings and chuckled to herself when she landed on her two feet. Her victory was short lived when she glanced behind her to see a sheer drop into nothingness.

"HOLY…" She was cut off when she finally noticed the view in front of her. "Wow." She eventually came to her senses and turned back around. In front of her lay sleek metal floors which had the sunlight literally bouncing off of them. To the left and right of her were two long, purple gravity lifts which lead to a floor above her. Arby wanted to remain quiet and hidden so she ignored them and went forward and down to a floor below. Clear in front of her was a large golden gravity lift which seemed to lead from the bottom to the top of the structure. It was almost hypnotic to look at as if gazing into a comforting fire place on a cold winter's day, unfortunately for Arby, she had work to do. She sighed to herself and moved on. A ramp to the left of her lead back up to the second floor. More ramps were visible as they made their way to the third floor. It was the quietest way to get up to the top so she had no choice but to make her way up… silently.

Behind her was the gentle hum of the large, golden gravity lift and in front was a higher pitched hiss from the smaller purple one. The walkway ran around in a rectangle and joined up on the other side where there was a separate walkway in the middle. Arby ventured there first, but found nothing. As she walked she began to notice that the floor underneath was hollow. As she peered over the edge, she noticed another walkway running parallel to the one she was on. She hung over the edge and dropped down, careful not to make a noise.

The atmosphere around her wasn't like the one before. With Sage, the feeling was calm, soothing and even friendly, but here it was cold, dark and most certainly hostile, which disturbed Arby to her core. Her hands were shaking and there was a cold sweat under her armour. This was a place she definitely didn't want to be in any longer than she had to.

She walked to the end of the long, metal path until the things she saw at the end stopped her completely. Her eyes darted around at the items and pictures that were simply sitting there, sending panic through her entire body. She couldn't move and she couldn't speak. For the time being, Arby was helpless.

"I see you have found my special collection?"

Arby jumped round to see another Sangheili standing there. She was wearing cyan and white armour and had two swords on her waist instead of one. It was clear that she was a close quarters professional unlike Arby who was unfortunately still recovering from what she had seen.

"Arbmaster 5 was one hell of a man. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Aurora and I guard the 5th Royal Sword. I am just like the others in every way except for one tiny detail. Would you like to know what that is?" She said with a disturbingly calm voice. Arby was frozen and completely disarmed of any actions.

"I shall tell you." Aurora went on. "Unlike the others, I have met the 5th of your generation and I must say that I am very fond of him."

Arbys' mandibles dropped and her whole body began to shake with fear. The images went through her mind of the kind of things Arbmaster 5 used to do. Torture was just child's play to him, it was something he did simply for fun. The abominations that he would create through years of pain had no emotion, no morale and simply wanted to kill those who had the gift of feelings.

Arby stared at Aurora straight in the eyes and finally spoke.

"You… have met him?" She questioned.

Aurora laughed to herself and smiled as she answered her question.

"Not only did I meet him but we were somewhat of an item." She laughed again but this time it was more of an insane cackle which terrified Arby through and through.

"That is crazy!" Arby screamed. "There is no possible way that you were alive over 1100 years ago and be alive today! You are lying!" Her breath was heavy and she was shaking even more. Aurora was locked on to Arby and she still had that same devious smile as she spoke.

"Did it ever occur to you that I have the gift of eternal life? I am a Guardian remember and each of us has something that makes us far superior than the average Sangheili."

Arby stumbled backwards slightly.

"Oh and one more thing?" Aurora continued. "His dying wish was to see this prophecy torn apart. He wanted nothing more than to see this race fall and that includes you. Little Arby."

The cold shot through her like an injection of adrenaline. She relied on her instincts and fired her sniper at the elites' head. Aurora ducked which caused the bullet to ricochet off of a column behind her and disappear into the distance. Aurora drew her two swords and charged at Arby. She jumped off the walkway and down to the second floor, but Aurora was right behind her. She swung her swords but Arby rolled forward and got out of range. She grabbed her sniper from her back and shot at the psycho elite. She was hit in the left shoulder which immediately caused Aurora to drop one of her swords. She charged again with her one sword remaining forcing Arby to step backwards. Behind her however was a large hole that lead down to the bottom floor. Arby fell backwards and she hit the cold, hard, metal floor with a loud clang. Her armour didn't soften the fall at all since it was also made of some kind of metal.

She slowly got back up clutching her back.

"I am too young for this." She thought to herself but was soon brought back to reality when Aurora leaped down and took another swing. Arby flipped back out of the way just in time and picked up a large weapon from the floor. She turned the nozzle and out the front came a small blue flame. Arby smiled insanely and pointed the flamethrower at Aurora who remained very still hoping she wouldn't fire.

Of course she fired anyway.

The inferno engulfed Aurora as she tried to shield herself with her one good arm. The raw heat given off by the fire seemed to surround Arby, almost hugging her. She embraced the warmth, it was a nice change from the icy atmosphere that was constant in this remote hell.

She finally let go of the trigger. Once the smoke had cleared she had the shock of seeing Aurora unscathed inside a bubble shield. Aurora then dove on Arby and began repeatedly punching her. The sheer force of her punches was enough to knock out any unarmoured Sangheili but her helmet couldn't take the brunt of these punches forever. It wasn't long before Arbys' eyes closed and the darkness took over her however, she was abruptly woken up by the sound of turret fire. She looked up to see Scythe kicking Aurora off of her and opening fire on the psychopathic Guardian. Aurora dove out the way of the path of bullets and ran up the ramp to the second floor where she was greeted by both Vierra and Sierra who kicked her to the ground in seconds.

She looked up to see a certain green elite standing over her, smiling madly.

"Hi there!" She said happily. "So from what I have heard, you have been hurting my new friend over there." Her smile soon became a glare and an expression of anger which was very unusual for Sage and terrifying all the same. "I really do not like that. You are most definitely going to get what you deserve." At that moment, Sage gave her one swift punch which could've knocked her out twice. Aurora was out for the count which means the other Guardians could deal with her properly.

Vierra helped Arby to her feet but she was still a bit light headed and leant on Vierras' shoulder for support. Vierra held her round the shoulder to make sure she was ok.

"What will happen to her now?" Arby simply asked.

Scythe was the first to reply. "Well she cannot be a Guardian that is for certain but do not worry Arbmaster, she will not be a threat to any of us anymore." Arby smiled at the comment but she still had questions.

"Do you… all have those kinds of abilities?"

"Yes but not quite as… impressive as eternal life." Sierra said. "The best we have got between us four is never being able to forget but Sage sees it more of a curse than anything."

They all in turn looked at Sage who simply stared back at them and said nothing.

Arby then spoke up again. "Did any of you know about Aurora?"

"No, to put it bluntly. None of us had any idea." Vierra stated. "Come. We will assist you to the sword."

Arby nodded and was helped to the top floor by the others.

The sword was placed at the far end of a walkway opposite to the one which had the Arbmaster 5 items. When they reached the sword, it was floating there, staring back at them with its warmth. Arby slowly picked it up and smiled. She put it on her waist with the others before she blacked out from her injuries. Scythe caught her under her arms and signalled Sierra to get her legs. They then carried her to a spot where they could take care of her injuries until she was well enough to gather the sixth sword.


	6. Sister, my Sister

It was several days of waking up and falling asleep as Arby was recovering from her injuries. The four Guardians were trying to pass some time by polishing armour, having mini sparring matches and even managing to play cards.

"You know, this is the most time I think we have ever had together to get to know each other and bond." Sage stated and she was right. Before this, all the Guardians had to remain isolated for the safety of the Royal Swords with the exception of Vierra and Sierra of course since they were related, however, all their swords were with Arby so they had nothing to guard. The four were quite happy just relaxing which was rare for them and they cherished every moment before they had to go back to reality.

Arby began to stir in her sleep. The others crowded around her in curiosity. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the four, who were staring blankly at her.

"GOOD MORNING BEAUTIFUL!" Sage said excitedly.

Arby groaned at her, she was never a morning person herself.

"Is she still hyper and happy whenever I am around?" The other three nodded and glanced at Sage who was now dancing round the room.

"How are you feeling now? I hope you do not black out again. It has been a week and three days." Said Vierra anxiously. Arby perked up in a panic.

"It has been how long?! I need to retrieve the other swords!"

"Calm down." Sierra jumped in. "The swords are not going anywhere however this civil war is approaching as we speak and thus, you need to make haste as soon as you feel ready."

Arby nodded and calmed herself down. She got up for the first time in a week. She was a bit stiff and a little sore but nothing she couldn't handle. Her armour was patiently waiting for her to step back into the role of Arbmaster 16 and fulfil the prophecy. She did exactly that. Her armour made her feel complete and she felt ready to take on the sixth Guardian. They all gave her a nod of respect before Scythe waved her hand and Arby vanished.

A gentle off shore wind was whistling through the cliffs. The water was calm and still, welcoming peace and tranquillity into its waves. Arby handled the landing better this time and was seen slowly swimming on her back and enjoying the peace and quiet. Feeling refreshed, Arby swam to one of the shores at the edge of the lake. It had a large, metallic tower and therefore seemed the most interesting to her.

Upon arriving at shore, Arby noticed someone sitting in a chair just outside of the tower. She had her feet up and was fishing in the lake.

"Whoa! I think I have got one! Unless it is another rock… please do not be another rock." It wasn't. At the end of the line was Arby who thanked her for the 'ride'.

"Oh my! You are not a fish at all."

"Well done Miss Observant. No, my name is Arby." She explained and the other Sangheili instantly perked up and choked on her drink.

"Oh! I am-"She continued to cough. Arby walked over to her and pat her on the back till she stopped coughing.

"I thank you oh great Arbmaster. I am Bybr. I guard the sword that is here in this valley and if the legend serves me well then you are here to retrieve it are you not?" She seemed a little excited but not on the scale of Sage who jumps around at the slightest thing.

"I am simply glad that you are friendly, I could use a bit of a break after the last Guardian."

"Ah yes. Aurora. We have all heard of what happened to her. It is a shame really but we must move on. Speaking of friendly, I do need to warn you of something." Arby tilted her head slightly in confusion as Bybr continued on.

"There is another Sangheili here with me but she is not as easy going as I. In fact, even though she has never met you, I am fairly certain she hates you."

Arby didn't know what to think. She first thought Guardians had to be isolated for the sake of the swords and then she wondered why this random elite hates her. Did she do something bad before all this? It wouldn't surprise her. She couldn't remember everything of her past but she felt that it wasn't in her nature to do anything so terrible that it would cause hate towards her.

Arby sighed and thought that the best way to deal with this was to face her personally. She asked Bybr where she was and she got up and pointed to another tower identical to this one on the opposite side of the valley. Arby said her thanks and walked across the valley.

The environment around her was nothing short of beautiful. There was a waterfall at the far end of the valley which created a stream that ran all the way down and into the lake. Surrounding her were vast cliffs with snow on their peaks that were lit up by the morning sunlight. The grass she was walking on was a wonderful shade of forest green.

On her way to the other tower she came across a crashed drop ship of some description. There was moss growing all over it so it was clear that it crashed a long time ago. There were some large crates and an old broken radio but nothing of any use to her. She moved on and climbed over a hill to see the tower in front of her. Despite them being identical they seemed to be complete opposites. The first tower had a warm atmosphere and a slight red glow around it, welcoming newcomers while this one was dark, cold and had a slight blue hostility towards it. Whoever was in here most likely didn't want any company but she didn't have much of a choice.

Arby slowly ventured inside, keeping her guard up just in case. She walked in through one of its three entrances to find an elite simply sitting there. Meditating.

"H-Hello?" She said with a slight tremble. The elite opened her eyes instantly and got up. She looked at her with an expression of shock.

"You." She said. Arby was confused but the other elite continued.

"I know you do not remember anything sister just like the prophecy said but how about I take you on a journey down memory lane?"

"Ok." Arby said blankly.

"Firstly I shall start off with my name. It is Cabr and do you know how I know you?"

"No." She said simply. Arby didn't want to say too much on the off chance it might anger her.

"I am your sister Arby. Not by name or by species I mean your sister by blood."

Arby choked up a bit at the thought of having a sibling. She was overjoyed at the thought but Cabr didn't feel the same. When Arby tried to hug her, Cabr pushed her away. This hurt Arby and she sat back down with an expression of sadness.

"Because of you Arby, I barely had a childhood, I barely had anyone to call my parents! They were all obsessed with you because you were their first born which gave you the title of Arbmaster 16. I was just an outcast, a backup in case something happened to you but of course nothing ever did. You were just perfect in the eyes of everyone except mine!"

Arby was in tears at Cabrs' story. She began to remember. Her mother and father were tucking her in and telling her stories. She could see Cabr stood in the doorway. She waved to her but then her parents told her to go to her room and leave them alone.

"I remember now. They only paid attention to me and they left you to fend for yourself. Cabr… I am so sorry."

Cabr grew angry. "Sorry is not going to make all of this better Arby!" This startled Arby and was worried that Cabr would attack her. Cabr nodded at her to move outside. Arby did as she was told and slowly walked outside. Cabr followed with a blade in her hand.

"That is not a good sign." Arby thought to herself.

"You can never understand Arby because you had everything you needed while you were growing up. You can never understand the emptiness, the sadness and the sheer anger I have towards you!" Cabrs' outburst terrified Arby. She then began to notice that Cabrs' arm was turning very red and tears were running down her face.

"Cabr… is that a Royal Sword you are holding?" She asked calmly but Cabr didn't care. She knew only those with the Arbmaster title could pick them up and the swords knew it as well. Her arm was slowly burning but it wasn't as bad as her upbringing. At this moment as long as her sister was alive, she didn't care if her arm burned off. Arby was yelling at her to drop the sword and to resolve this peacefully but Cabr wouldn't listen. She charged at her using all the pain of her childhood to fuel her rage. Arby didn't want to fight her so she dodged, flipped and rolled out of the way of all of her attacks. The constant misses only infuriated Cabr even more and her arm wasn't getting any better.

Arby had no choice but to retaliate. When Cabr went for another swing Arby struck her in the back of the head which sent her to the floor. Cabr quickly turned over and jumped back up whilst kicking Arby away from her. Cabr then grabbed what looked like a blue ball from her waist. She pressed a button on the side and it lit up. She threw it at Arby who dove to her right to avoid it. It then blew up and showered Arby in small rocks from the cliff behind her.

"You have grenades?!" Arby questioned. "…Now who is Miss Observant?" She thought before Cabr could answer.

Cabr was on her knees but she still refused to let go of the sword. Her arm was getting darker and Arby began to panic. She begged her sister to let go before her arm was beyond healing.

"Cabr please! I know you are mad at but please listen! Nothing is worth losing your arm over. You can hate me for the rest of your days if you want but I still love you! You are the only blood relative I know and before all this I had the Guardians as my family. They were all there when I needed them and I will do all I can to stop this war. I am now willing to be there for you Cabr. I will do anything so that we can be sisters and so that you feel that you have the same feeling I do. Please Cabr. Drop that sword."

Cabr was sat there simply staring at her. The desperation of wanting a family was weakening her just like the burning of her arm. The pain flooded her system and she passed out. Arby instantly got up and put the sword on her waist while she held her sister in her arms.

"I am so sorry Cabr. I will do everything I can to get you through this I promise." She pleaded with tears still running. She picked her up and took her to Bybr who was still fishing in the same spot. She took Cabr inside the tower and gave her all the medical attention she could.

A few hours later, Bybr came out and looked Arby straight in the eyes.

"Arby I am terribly sorry. I was unable to save Cabrs' arm. She now has fully functioning metallic arm but it may take her a while to get used to it."

The shock of the news instantly sent Arby to tears. She went inside to see Cabr who was silent but awake. Before Arby could say anything, Cabr spoke.

"I do not know what to say to you. I know you are my sister and actually you are the only blood relative I have. I do want a family and someone to be there but I just do not know."

Arby smiled at her. "You will not be alone again Cabr. Come." She helped Cabr up and led her outside.

"Bybr." She said confidently. "Teleport us both if you will?"

Bybr looked back at her confused but nodded and did as she was told. Arby held her sister round the shoulders and they both disappeared with Cabr smiling for the first time in years.


	7. It's What's on the Inside that Counts

**Hey guys! I would like to thank you all for the support and for keeping up with this story so far! I really appreciate you taking the time to give this a chance and I hope that you are all enjoying it! There's more to come and I hope everyone out there is doing ok :)**

**Arby xx**

They came out of teleportation as they normally would. Arby, who landed on her feet without a hitch and Cabr, who held onto Arbys' shoulder for support to stop her falling over. The area was grim. Full of overgrown vegetation with the smell of damp.

"Ugh." They both murmured under their hands.

"What is that smell?" Cabr asked.

"I honestly have no idea. I have been around but I have not been here yet so I am just as clueless as you." Arby looked around. The ground around them seemed to be rotting. It was a mouldy grey colour and had weird, unexplainable orange bumps growing out of the soil.

They stuck together whilst they ventured this unknown territory. There appeared to be two floors. The top was simply grass which was looking more and more unpleasant as time went on and the bottom was a maze which had two main rooms. One area had a red, warm atmosphere and the other seemed blue and cold, similar to the towers they encountered before.

"What is all this orange goo on the walls?" Cabr asked but Arby couldn't answer. She just shrugged her shoulders in confusion. Before they could look around any further, everything around them began to shake.

"IS THAT AN EARTHQUAKE?!" Cabr yelled over the noise.

"TO THE SURFACE! NOW!" Arby responded as they both ran out of the cavern in case it collapsed. Upon reaching the surface, they both dove behind a rock out of shock of seeing something truly terrifying. Cabr could barely move and just whispered to Arby.

"Arb… What is that thing?"

"I wish I knew but I do not… Someone is attacking it. Look over there Cabr."

Upon further observation, they both saw an elite firing some kind of green projectiles at the monster and then firing a golden beam of light which seemed to set it on fire. The beast reacted by flailing its two huge tentacles and charging at the Sangheili. An intimidating sight when it was easily three times their height. The elite dove out of the way with an impressive display of flips and rolls and almost landed on Arby. She had brown and green armour which seemed to match the colours of the environment around her. Camouflage is usually something people use for stealth but this Sangheili was being anything but.

"Whoa! Who are you guys? I am a little busy right now but I am willing to take autographs later." The elite said with smug look.

"Cocky bitch." Cabr whispered as Arby stared at her in shock at her language.

"Oh please. Do not tell me that you have not sworn once whilst on this adventure and besides we have literally bigger things to worry about."

Arby smiled. "Actually I am proud to say that I have not sworn thank you very much." Cabr looked at her and was actually quite impressed by it.

"Anyway my name is Arby and I know you have got your hands full but I need the Royal Sword that you are guarding."

The Sangheili looked puzzled for a second and then realised who she was talking to.

"Oh! You… you… you are-"

"Please take your time. We are only under attack from a big blob. It is fine." Cabr said with a sarcastically calm tone. Arby nudges her to keep her mouth quiet and they all follow the elite underground.

"I did not catch your name?" Arby realised.

"My name is Venus and yes I am the Guardian of the 7th sword but as you can see, I am having a few problems."

"You think?" Cabr interrupted but both Arby and Venus ignored it.

"What was that thing?" Arby asked as they all sat down in one of the rooms.

"Have you never heard of the Flood before?" Venus said jokingly.

"Well no." She said bluntly. Venus looked at her with a blank expression before she composed herself and began to explain.

"The Flood is a kind of parasite. It infects hosts and it mutates into truly horrific abominations. That thing up there is what I call a Juggernaut."

"Ever had anything like this before?" Cabr said who was finally realising that this was a threat and not a joke.

"These things are here all the time. Did you not see the huge walls surrounding this place?"

Arby and Cabr peeked up through the entrance and had a second look around. Venus wasn't kidding. There were towering walls which completely isolated the whole area, there was no way in and no way out. Arby then looked back at Venus.

"This place is meant to keep the Flood in here is it not? It is a quarantine zone."

"You catch on quick Arby. You are right and yes, the 7th sword is here."

"Why would they put the sword in such an idiotic place? Even the Guardian is at risk of being infected!" Arby jumped in.

"I think the main point of that is to keep people out but I do see your point." Venus said reasonably.

"Are we going to kill it or what?" Cabrs' patience was clearly wearing thin, she was almost acting like a child but Arby couldn't blame her. She was forced to grow up so young that she never had that chance of acting like an idiot and enjoying herself so Arby just let her continue.

"Ok Cabr. We have no choice but to kill it we just do not know how unless Venus has an idea?" Arby said hopefully and looked at Venus.

"The only idea I have is to just pound that thing with everything we have and hope it dies." The hopefulness in Arby was quickly shot down by her comment and she looked at her displeased.

"You said these things are here all the time. How can you not know how to kill it?"

"I said the Flood are here all the time yes, but this is the first time I have encountered a Juggernaut. Before this I simply thought it was a legend that the other Guardians came up with."

Arby wasn't amused but they had to think of something before the Juggernaut tore the place apart.

"Ok well firepower is all we need. I have my sniper and Cabr you… need to find a weapon."

"Where do you expect me to find a gun here?!" Cabr grew more frustrated until Venus handed Cabr her Fuel Rod Cannon.

"You are giving me your Fuel Rod?" She asked in a bit of shock.

"Well yes. I have other ways of attacking that thing so do not worry about me." Venus said with a very devious smile clear on her face. She then got up and walked casually out of the room. This perked up the curiosity of both Arby and Cabr so they followed whilst keeping a safe distance.

Upon reaching the outdoors, the scene was enough to make Arby and Cabrs' mandibles drop. Debris, boxes and even old, tattered vehicles were being flung at the beast by Venus but she wasn't even touching them.

"That. Is. Amazing!" Cabr announced. Arby was quiet with her eyes glued to the spectacle. The Juggernaut was taking the beating well and it clearly needed more to bring it down. Arby yelled at Cabr to use the Fuel Rod. She very excitedly agreed and let loose on the monster. Arby meanwhile ran to a different spot to try and confuse the beast and opened fire with her sniper rifle.

The Juggernaut was soon surrounded by a cloud of debris, green mist and sniper bullets. It kept turning around unable to decide on which target to go for. It then turned to face Arby. Its tentacles could sense the kind of power she had upon her. She was the most powerful being there and was therefore the Juggernaut's first target. She could see the beast charging towards her through her scope until she looked up to see that it was a lot closer than she thought. Being in a tree, she then realised that she wasn't in the greatest of places. The Juggernaut slammed into the tree which sent both Arby and the tree flying into the side of the quarantine wall. The fall would have been certain to kill her until she found herself suspended in the air and being gently brought back down to the ground. She then looked over to Venus who was smiling at her. Arby of course smiled back in gratitude for saving her life and gave her a nod of respect. The Juggernaut however was not impressed as it began to chase Arby around the zone. She tried to twist and turn around trees and rocks but they were no match for the creature as it knocked them out of the way with a startling force. Cabr and Venus continued to hurl and shoot everything they could but the Juggernaut ignored all their feeble attempts to distract it. It was relentless in its pursuit and Arby was running out of steam… and ammo. She couldn't run another step. She slowly turned around to see the monster closing in on her. She tried to think of something, anything that could stop it but nothing came to her. Instead she clutched her sniper close and braced herself for the impact. Cabr was running to try and help her sister and Venus was staring at the Juggernaut when suddenly, it came to her like a bolt of lightning.

"I cannot control it because it is far too big. I can however control its arms. Of course! Arby hang in there! I can stop it!"

At that moment, its arms stopped in mid swing. It took Venus all the strength she had to lift it up and throw it across the quarantine zone. It was then impaled on the same tree it had knocked over earlier. In a horrible display of twitching and green blood, the Juggernaut perished.

Venus sat down in exhaustion while Cabr hugged her big sister, thankful that she was alive.

"I know you did not want me to be alone and all but seriously, do not scare me like that again ok?!" Cabr shouted as she was shaking. Arby nodded in agreement and they both walked over to Venus.

"Are you alright?" They both asked.

"Yes just a huge headache and I overall feel… ugh."

They both began to panic as Venus passed out right there in front of them. They turned around to see all the previous Guardians stood behind them. They all had very serious expressions on their faces, even Sage.

"What is it?" Was all Arby had to say.

Scythe spoke. "Arby… I am afraid that the civil war has begun."

Arby nearly fainted in shock but she gathered her senses.

"How?! I have not got all of the swords yet! What are we going to do?!"

Sierra had to again calm her down.

"You can still stop this. The more time you waste, the higher the death toll will be. Understand?" Arby nodded.

"I recommend that you leave Cabr with us. If you are to get this done swiftly then you need no distractions." Bybr commented.

Arby looked back at Cabr who was looking at her feet.

"It is alright Arb. I… I'll stay so you can save us." She looked into Arbys' eyes. "Good luck sister. Stay safe." She smiled at her which instantly made Arby hug her. Tears came down both of their faces as they said goodbye.

"I still need the sword from here. Do any of you know where it is?" Arby asked.

Bybr waved her hand in enthusiasm. She then led Arby to the sword which was in a cavern underground. It was only accessible by a teleporter which was still functioning luckily. She took the sword and Bybr wasted no time and sent her to the final location before she returned to the other Guardians who were all hoping that it wasn't too late.


	8. Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst

**I shall admit that this chapter was a challenge to get done. A lot has happened this week but I still got it done on time for you guys :) Thanks for the support and I will see you all again next week! :)**

It was an incredibly warm afternoon, it was almost tranquil. Overlooked by a stained yellow sky were the vast plains of sand which seemed to come to life every time the wind blew. The particles would dance and twirl in the air as they got caught in every little bit of armour. Arby didn't seem too bothered by it, she had never been in a desert before, at least not that she could remember.

"I am not at all surprised that the sword is here. Look at this place. There is nothing here except sand and wind and… huge towers surrounding the whole area?" Her observations were no mirage. Surrounding her were eight enormous towers and upon looking even further, they seemed to shoot a very faint beam of orange light every now and then. They were harmless but still very weird. She came across a crater in the sand and she was amazed at the sight. Half buried in this crater were ancient ruins. She had no idea where they were from or why they were there, they were just simply buried there in front of her.

With every step, came more things to look at. The ruins were a lot larger than she first thought and for some strange reason there was some kind of purple wreckage. It was too worn out and rusty to even begin to tell what it was and it had nothing inside of it. It was just another useless find.

Arby always preferred the heat to the cold. Even being in a desert with inch thick armour, she felt more at home here than she has done in the past few weeks. That is until something caught her eye. It was hard to tell because of the glare from the sun but there seemed to be something on top of the tallest ruin. She couldn't make out what it was whether it was real or a mirage but she wanted to find out. She moved around to try and get a better angle but it was too high up.

"Wait… I have a sniper for a reason… apart from sniping things. I can simply use its scope." Arby did just that. Upon looking through her scope she could see that it was definitely real and it was staring back at her, also through a sniper scope. She dove behind a nearby rock just as a shot was fired. She moved to the wreckage for better cover and to gather her thoughts.

"Ok. I am being sniped in a desert where the final sword should be. That is most likely the Guardian and the sword must be up there with her, but how to get up there?"

There were no answers around her but there was one on her back. She remembered way back when she encountered the first Guardian.

"I shot her in the head and it did nothing because of her shielded armour. So just maybe a shot to the foot would be enough to make her panic a little and give me a chance to get closer."

She pats the top of her sniper as if to say good luck to it and then she took aim. With one shot she hit her in the top of the leg. Not perfect but it got the job done. Arby immediately ran from her cover across the sandy plain. The Guardians shields recovered quickly and she soon noticed Arby out in the open. Arby was trying everything she could to dodge but this sniper was just as accurate as Arby and got her shields down. Despite the sudden panic, Arby made it underneath the pillar that the Guardian was on but there was no easy way to get up there. She took this chance to have a better look around.

There wasn't much to these ruins. There were pathways and a hidden chamber with some kind of long, metal hook that she had never seen before. There were even two jets of wind that acted like gravity lifts. She was most impressed by those. On the other side of the pillar was something so out of place that it intrigued Arby greatly. She could only describe it as an enormous green vehicle. She inspected it closer. On its bottom floor it had a screen and a small quad bike while on the top floor it had the main control panel and several defence turrets. She looked around the outside of it to see it had something written on the side.

"Leviathan?" She said to herself. She knew the term and what it meant but what confused her was that it was on a land vehicle in the middle of a desert. It grew on her until she came back to her senses and realised she was thinking too much. She shook it off and kept looking around for anything that could help her. As she investigated further she found something. Judging by its two propellers and a cockpit it should be able to fly however knowing next to nothing about being a pilot made her vulnerable. As she got in, she readied her sniper in her one free hand so that when she was level with the Guardian she could aim and try to negotiate.

Its engines rumbled into life. It was jumpy at first but she soon got the hang of it and the aircraft was stable in a matter of seconds. She had her sniper ready and the cockpit remained open. She began her ascent until she reached the top of the stone pillar where she was face to face with the final Guardian. She stabilised the craft with one hand and aimed her sniper with the other. She was ready to face her until something caught Arby's eye. Her armour. It looked familiar but she couldn't place it. She felt as if she had seen it before but where?

"You. Your armour. It looks familiar. Do I know you?" She said with a determined tone as she continued to point the sniper at her face.

The elite said nothing. She was staring at Arby's armour just like Arby was staring at her. Arby noticed this and began to study both sets of armour. She had her usual red and purple armour with green stripes while the Guardian had purple and red armour with the same green details. Their armour was clearly identical, the only difference was the red and the purple had been swapped around. Oddly, the similarities in their armour terrified Arby, she wasn't sure why it scared her but it did.

"You are trespassing. Why are you here?" The Guardian asked.

"You sound odd for a Guardian. You sound male?" The Guardian didn't look pleased by her comment.

"I am male. Now why are you here?"

Arby's eyes widened. "The others said that all the Guardians are female."

"The others do not know much about me for the sake of this sword. Now for the last time why are you here?"

"That sword is why I am here." Arby said. The Guardian seemed to grow angry upon hearing this.

"No! The sword stays here no matter what the cost."

"Listen, if I do not retrieve this sword then our entire race will be wiped out in this civil war."

The Guardians patience began to run out. "You listen, this sword is all I have now. I will guard it until my dying breath but if I go down then I will do everything in my power to bring you down with me."

Arby knew she wasn't getting through to him and tried a different approach.

"Ok let us start again. My name is Arby and I am the 16th Arbmaster in my bloodline. If I cannot get this sword then there will literally be nothing left to guard and no one left to guard. I have the other 7 Royal Swords if you need more proof."

He studied the swords on her waist for a good few minutes before he spoke.

"My name is Shade. I do not have a bloodline myself and I have pretty much nothing except for this sword in my life. The others might be stupid and naïve but I will not be swayed by your talk. This sword is mine and you will never get your hands on it."

At that moment, Shade grabbed the sword and put it on his waist at such a speed that sword didn't harm him. He then dove off of the pillar and jumped into one of the two purple aircraft that waited at the bottom.

"What is that?" Arby said. A voice came over the radio and gave her the answer.

"This thing is a Banshee and the thing you are in a Hornet. I thought you were meant to learn things whilst on your travels?" He said with sarcasm.

"I did." Arby said simply before she jumped out of the Hornet and began to pilot the second Banshee. Shade was surprised by how smoothly she flew, assuming she had never flown one before.

She twirled, flipped and even loop de looped. The display was magnificent and had Shade mesmerised for a good five minutes until Arby let loose. She fired the two main cannons with incredible precision that it took one of Shade's wings clean off. Shade began to back flip and fire back at Arby who expertly dodged the cannon fire. Shade boosted close to Arby and unleashed a Banshee bomb which hit Arby perfectly. The bomb didn't appear to do much damage but Shade knew a hit like that would have damaged the Banshee as a whole rather than just one wing. Arby felt the entire Banshee shake from the impact and knew she had to act before it fell apart. She dove downwards and used the ruins for cover whilst Shade stayed at a higher altitude and kept watch for her. As soon as he turned his back Arby darted upwards and hit him directly in the rear of his Banshee which threw him off balance and caused the Banshee to flip out of control. He tried to recover but his lost wing turned out to be more of an issue than he first thought. Shade braced himself for impact as he plummeted into the ruins below.

Arby continued scouting in the Banshee until she saw the smoke rising up from the depths. She carefully flew the Banshee through the ruins and came to a soft landing next to the crash site. Arby was terrified that he had gotten seriously hurt and all the feeling from the first Guardian came screaming back to her.

"I am sorry, friend." She whispered to herself as one solitary tear came to her eye. She searched through the wreckage but didn't find a body. Was he dead? She couldn't answer, she just remembered seeing that Banshee tumble to its doom.

"It hit a wall on the way down and then crashed here. I do not think anyone could have survived that." She thought out loud. Half an hour passed as she repeatedly searched the rubble but to no avail. Arby finally gave up and just sat there in the sand as the sun began to set. It was a dark end to the day and one Arby didn't want to remember.

Heavy footsteps were seen in the sand as Arby walked around aimlessly. She was at a loss as to what to do next. She knew she didn't have the sword but Shade's body was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they were both obliterated amongst the flames, that was the only explanation she could come up with. Her thoughts began to wonder. The war came back to her mind and her guilt rose tremendously. With every second wasted without the sword, the more that her people were dying and she could do nothing about it. Arby laid down in the sand and looked to the fading, blood red sky. To the right was the sun still setting and to the left was the moon just beginning to rise with stars decorating the space in between. She didn't feel that she deserved a sight so beautiful and so she closed her eyes and listened to the gentle breeze that was present. Something was interrupting Arby's peace and quiet. She thought she could hear footsteps in the distance but just assumed it was her imagination, until something poked her in the shoulder.

She jumped up in shock and pulled out her sniper out of instinct but lowered it soon after she saw who it was that poked her.

"Shade?" She said in disbelief. He simply nodded back at her and pointed to the sword on his waist. He nodded again and allowed Arby to take the sword off of him.

"Wait what? Before you would do anything before you surrendered it but now you are just letting me have it? What changed?" She asked confused.

"I shall explain." He answered and laid down next her.

"There is a reason why I am male and allowed to guard the eighth sword." He began while Arby listened intently.

"It was a few years ago. I was with… someone and it did not end on the greatest of terms." He paused and had Arby looking at him with a blank expression.

"Do you mind if I ask who?"

"I guess not. Her name was Angel. I will not lie but I had come to depend on her. She was my everything but despite my feelings she still left me. I tried to convince her otherwise but she just sent me here. I found the sword on top of that pillar and assumed it was a gift from her. Ever since that day I have guarded it with my life and soul in a hope that she would come back for me but as you can see… I am still here."

Arby was in awe at the tragic tale. "I am sorry Shade." Was all she could say before he continued on.

"It is ok. I saw you earlier near my crashed Banshee and I must say you are very dedicated to your cause. That makes me feel a little better."

"How?" Arby questioned.

"I was blinded by my emotions. I thought she was everything and without her I could see nothing but you have changed that. You have given me a glimpse of the outside world. A taste of freedom and for that I must thank you. You fight every obstacle that gets in your way all for our race. That caring side is something Angel never had and it is only now that I have realised that she is not perfect and that I do not need her to breathe on my own."

Arby shed a small tear over Shade's appreciation. She couldn't remember that last time anyone showed that much gratitude for something she thought was so small.

"Could I ask you a question?" Shade said.

"I do not see why not. What is on your mind Shade?" Arby replied whilst taking in the view above.

"When you leave here to stop this war, could you… could you take me with you?"

Arby gasped.

"It is just, I do not want to stay here. I am reminded too much of her and it is just too painful. I would be forever in your debt if I could accompany you on your travels and your destiny." He bowed down to her which caught Arby a little off guard.

"I am overwhelmed Shade. I am truly grateful for the appreciation that you have shown towards me. Of course I will take you with me. If it is to help you move on and have a fresh start in life then please teleport us both to the other Guardians. We have a war to end."

Shade smiled and Arby smiled back. They both held hands as Shade teleported them both to the company of the other six Guardians.


	9. We Remember

In an instant, Arby and Shade were back with the Guardians who were both relieved and in a rush. Cabr on the other hand seemed rather relaxed until she saw Shade.

"Whoa, who is the new guy around your arm Arb?" She teased and made Arby very self-aware. She let go of Shade, cleared her throat and looked to Scythe.

"What do we do now Scythe?" Arby asked. She always assumed that Scythe was like a leader to the rest of them since her and Sierra were the only two that were down to earth and in touch with reality.

"We need to head back to Sangheilios and put the swords in their rightful places."

Arby perked up.

"Are you telling me that for all these weeks, we have not been on our home planet? Where the hell have we been?" She was clearly agitated by this and Vierra didn't make it much better.

"We have just been in random places in the galaxy. It is to make the swords are as difficult as possible to find. Except for you of course because you were born to save us."

Arby didn't feel much better but she turned to Shade who gave her a reassuring nod. She smiled back but was still feeling uneasy and tried to get back on topic.

"We do not have the time to waste to just chat. We have to get moving now."

The others nodded and joined hands as they collectively travelled to the Royal Sword resting ground.

They found themselves on some kind of circular platform. It had eight pedestals which they all knew were for the swords. It was surrounded by a muggy swamp and trees that must have been hundreds of years old.

To the left of them was half a tree that looked like a pedestal in its own right. Someone was walking up that tree and it had the Guardians mesmerised. When she came into full view all the Guardians bowed down, all except for Arby, Cabr and Shade.

"Why are they bowing? Wait, why are you not bowing? You are a Guardian to."

"He is a Guardian?" Cabr interrupted.

Shade sighed. "Yes but the reason I am not bowing is because… well… that is Angel, the leader of the Guardians."

"What?!" Arby jumped back in surprise. She always thought the Guardians led themselves and maybe go to Scythe if there was something wrong. It never even crossed her mind that they had a leader.

"I do not get it." Cabr interrupted again.

"I shall explain later but for now just leave the talking to us." Arby said sternly.

"You must be her then. Arby is it? Judging by your shocked expression you already know who I am and Shade… I honestly did not expect to see you after all these years."

Shade remained composed but deep down Angel's smugness angered him greatly. Arby held his shoulder to stop him from doing anything foolish and began to talk.

"You know why I am here Angel. I have all eight Royal Swords and I have brought them here so that their power can spread across the land and stop this civil war."

Unusually, Angel began to laugh. Arby and the other Guardians looked at each other not knowing how to react.

"Oh Arby you are so naive. You think gathering swords and bringing them here will just simply stop this war?"

"That is the assumption I was riding on yes. Nobody has told me the result of bringing these relics together."

"That is because they do not know what happens." Angel continued. "I on the other hand do but there is no time to explain. Just place the swords on their pedestals and nature will take its course."

Arby could tell by her expression and body language that there was some hidden meaning to that statement but didn't have a clue what she meant. She simply put each sword on its pedestal until they were all staring back at her in their glowing glory. Suddenly, the floor began to shake violently! The Guardians began to panic as a white aura started emanating from each of them.

"Our powers!" Sage screamed as she and the rest of them began to fall to the abyss below. Out of nowhere, they all landed with a heavy thud on another stone platform that was hidden within the depths of the emerald fog. Shade, Arby and Cabr all got up while the others remained on the ground in tremendous pain as they began to decompose right there in front of them!

"What the hell is happening?!" Cabr yelled as she hid behind Arby like a scared little girl. Shade was the first to speak up.

"What you may not know is that our powers are the things that keep us alive. Our powers are our life energy so without them…"

"You… die." Arby said with a clear sense of sadness in her voice. "But…" She stopped. She was lost for words as she watched most of the people she had grown close to over the past few weeks disappear. She ran to Shade and held him tight. Fear rushed through her but feeling Shades arms comforted her a little. She looked up at him with tears appearing in her eyes.

"Shade… you are a Guardian. Why are you not…"

He looked up to where Angel was. "I think that it is Angel herself who is keeping me alive."

Arby also looked up, seeing a bright white light as her wings spread freely. The angelic light was suddenly stained by flashes of red and black. Arby looked to Shade who was just as clueless as she was. Angel slowly descended to the platform where the remaining three were stood. The once bright and vibrant angel wings had turned red with black at the tips of the feathers.

"Oh Shade, death cannot take you from me. Nothing can." Angel declared. "And you Arby… you think that you can simply stop all of this? When are you going to realise that wars are as common as eating food? When are you going to realise that they will never end?" Arby stopped her tears and put on a brave face.

"We are not helpless Angel. Sitting back and doing nothing is not in our nature. You do realise a lot of people have died already including those very close to us. They died to help stop this and I am sure as hell not going to let them down because there is far more to life than just killing each other!" Her anger began to rise as thoughts began to race through her head. One thought however stopped her rage dead in its tracks.

"Shade, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" He responded.

"If Angel is stopped… as in killed… what will happen to you?" Shade said nothing. He only looked at the bodies of the other Guardians and Arby did the same. She looked back at Shade before she spoke, trying to keep herself from crying again.

"Shade I cannot do it. I would be a murderer and you-"

"It is all ok Arby." Shade interrupted. "The death of us will save millions and one of those millions will be the one you meet and the one who will be by your side until the end." This hit Arby very hard. Shade was the first guy she ever felt anything for since losing her memory and now she was forced to lose him. She couldn't help but cry for him. He had no choice and neither did she. Shade held her close and made their last moments count.

Cabr watched the whole thing and her rage grew knowing her sister was going through a lot of pain. "You are not hurting my sister anymore you bitch!" Cabr yelled as she grabbed Arby's sniper rifle and leaped onto the back of Angel. Her defensive instincts and metallic arm gave her a tremendous amount of strength as she tried to use the rifle to snap her neck. Angel had other ideas and used Sierra's power of controlling her own body temperature to heat herself up to the point where Cabr got severe burns and fell to the floor writhing in pain. Arby noticed her sister who was seriously hurt and was given a boost of motivation to attack Angel with Shade doing the same.

Angel flew to the ground and used Scythe's power to heal herself from Cabr's attempt at killing her. She then tapped her foot and the ground began to shake once more.

"Who had the seismic powers Shade?!"

"I did." Shade replied almost shamefully. Fortunately, the stone was strong enough to withstand the force and Angel grew frustrated.

"That is it! Arby! Let us fight like true warriors!" Angel demanded as she pulled out two energy swords and beckoned Arby forward. She agreed and stepped forward with her one sword. Shade's sword.

"We finish this now Angel!" Arby ordered. "If I win then the war ends and this never happens again."

"And if I win then you shall die along with Shade and your precious sister." Angel said with a devilish smirk.

"You corrupt bitch." Both Cabr and Shade looked at Arby in shock. They all knew she was angry. "Fine. Let us finish this." She finally said.

They both began to stare into each other's eyes and circle. Angel had put away her stained wings and Arby was deadly focused but still had Shade in the back of her mind. Suddenly, Angel used Vierra's power and leaped well above them and tried to drive one of her swords down on Arby's head, but she was somewhat slow and Arby rolled out of the way causing Angel to ricochet off of the stone and stun slightly. Arby saw the opportunity and swung her sword through one of her wings. Angel howled in agony as her left wing was cut clean off! Arby smiled at her pain in a psychotic way used it to fuel her next charge. She swung with all of her strength but Angel soon returned the favour and drove her sword through Arby's right arm. She was flung back by the force and shivered on the floor in pain.

"My arm…" She said to herself. "She got my fucking arm!" Arby cried. Shade's defensive side grew tremendously at the sight of Arby hurt and quickly grabbed his sword from her and jumped on Angel's back. Her skin was still boiling hot and Shade screamed in pain but fought through it and still manage to use his body weight to pull her head back and ram the sword through her ribs and heart. Angel fell to the ground gasping for air but she knew she was slowly dying and tried to heal herself again. Arby got up and picked up her sniper rifle. She slammed it into her head, knocking her out and stopping her from healing herself. A few minutes later, Shade began losing his strength and Arby began to panic. Angel was definitely dead… and Shade was going down with her.

"Shade…" Arby could just about create words with her trembling voice and overwhelming sadness.

"It is ok Arby. You have saved millions today. You should return home proud… not upset."

"Not upset? Shade how can you say that when you are dying right here in my arms?"

"Because Arby… you have made me happier now than I have been in centuries and just know that you are and always will be the only angel for me."

A smile grew on Arby's face as tears came endlessly from her helpless eyes. She then noticed a similar white light appear from behind her. She glanced back to see angel wings sprouting from her.

"Goodbye Arby. I'll be watching over you." Shade whispered as he disappeared in Arby's arms. Arby, who was still awash in tears, got up and walked over to Cabr who was still unconscious. She picked her up and looked back one last time before she used her new wings to fly them both away.

**Epilogue**

Several years had passed since the incident with Shade and the Guardians. Arby did manage to stop the war without it getting too out of hand. There were only a few casualties and memorials were held for all of them. Arby remembered everything again and took herself and Cabr back home. Their real home. As soon as they got there, they held a funeral for the Guardians they had lost. Arby struggled with it at first but Cabr supported her through it all as she slowly recovered. Her arm did recover from the sword injury and Cabr tends to tease her from time to time about it, Arby doesn't mind, she just sees it as Cabr letting out the childish side that she never got as a kid and Arby even sees herself as a mother figure towards her.

After the events of the war, both Cabr and Arby were hailed as heroes all across Sangheilios although Arby couldn't help but feel guilt over Shade's death. They returned to Sejuree state were they inherited their parents' mansion. Arby got one side and Cabr got the other to minimise the chance of any sibling fights.

_Sixteen years later._

Arby now has a family with her husband Zeza Sejuree and they have a daughter, Teza. They don't follow traditional Sangheili culture in the respect that they are very loyal to each other and have vowed to be for the rest of their lives. Arby told him 'The Tale of the Guardians' as she calls it and every few months they all go to a grave site to pay their respects as a result.

As for Cabr, her heritage gave her a lot of respect from her brethren and now teaches sword duelling to those who wish to learn. Arby taught Cabr everything she knows and now wants to pass down her knowledge to the next generation and especially her niece. They are all proud of the lives they lead and have no regrets all thanks to the Guardians that are in their thoughts and will never be forgotten.

**Well there you go! I know it took its time but I finally got it finished! I hope you all enjoyed it and I hope you have a great day. There will be another fan fiction which will be up sometime in the coming months. In the meantime I hope you all are ok and I will see you all soon! ^.^**

**Thank you so much for reading!**

**Arby xx**


End file.
